You can explore London’s amazing museums from home with virtual tours that’ll transport you and your kids on incredible adventures. The British Museum offers live workshops about Roman treasures and Egyptian mummies, while the Natural History Museum lets you walk among dinosaurs and meet Hope the blue whale. The Science Museum showcases rockets and spacecraft, the National Gallery features Renaissance masterpieces, and the V&A displays toys and costumes. These digital experiences transform your living room into an exciting discovery zone with endless learning opportunities waiting ahead.
British Museum
While your kids mightn’t be able to touch the actual Rosetta Stone, the British Museum’s virtual visits bring ancient history right to your living room. These 60-minute live workshops target children aged 7-11, covering everything from Roman treasure hunts to myth-busting ancient Egypt sessions.
Your kids will tackle interactive quizzes, examine real artifacts, and develop detective skills through archaeology challenges.
Choose from sessions exploring Stone Age homes, Greek temple architecture, or Indus Valley mysteries. Most workshops cost £90, though the Egypt session’s free.
Can’t catch a live session? Explore their Google Arts collaboration featuring 2 million years of history, virtual gallery walks, and hundreds of searchable artifacts. The museum’s virtual tour provides a detailed narrative that guides visitors through human history using carefully curated archaeological findings. These experiences align perfectly with UK curriculum while making ancient civilizations exciting and accessible.
Natural History Museum
Even if your kids can’t roam the actual halls, the Natural History Museum’s virtual experiences transform your home into a paleontologist’s playground. The Virtual Museum hub offers 13 digital experiences, including interactive tours through the Dinosaurs gallery and encounters with the famous blue whale skeleton Hope.
Your family can explore 360° virtual tours via Google Arts & Culture, steering Earth, Dinosaurs, and Mammals galleries from your couch.
Don’t miss the “Stomp like a dinosaur” activity that gets kids moving while learning about extinction theories. The Family Favourites self-guided tour highlights the museum’s biggest sights, perfect for repeat virtual visits. For families planning future in-person visits, the museum offers special interactive tours for children aged 4–7 that combine stories and hands-on activities.
Complement your exploration with downloadable activities like coloring sheets and make-your-own trace fossils that bring prehistoric adventures into your living room.
Science Museum
How can you turn your living room into a cutting-edge science lab? The Science Museum’s virtual offerings make it surprisingly easy! Start with Google Streetview’s 360° tour through multiple floors, then immerse yourself into their online collection of over 325,000 objects with high-resolution images.
Your kids will love exploring space virtually – they can examine real rockets like the Black Arrow and Scout, plus Tim Peake’s actual Soyuz spacecraft and a genuine Moon fragment. The Flight gallery’s dramatic aircraft displays work brilliantly through 360° imagery for budding pilots.
Don’t miss the kid-focused spaces like Pattern Pod’s digital activities or Wonderlab’s hands-on science demonstrations available through online videos. These virtual experiences work particularly well with Google Cardboard viewers for a more immersive educational adventure. Google Expeditions even offers structured “school trips” that you can pilot, pausing at key exhibits for family discussions about inventions and technology.
National Gallery
Since the National Gallery houses some of the world’s most famous paintings, you can bring Renaissance masterpieces directly into your home through their impressive virtual tours.
Your kids can explore works by Titian, Veronese, and Holbein using Google’s 360° tours that cover multiple rooms and the stunning Central Hall.
The Family Activities Hub creates perfect opportunities for whole families to learn together through self-guided digital activities.
You’ll love the content “made by children, for children” that makes famous artworks feel accessible to younger audiences.
Don’t miss the Keeper of Paintings: Canvas Quest – an augmented reality game for ages 7+ that turns art exploration into an exciting hide-and-seek adventure.
The high-resolution zoom features let kids examine brushstrokes and colors up close. Families can also take advantage of the dedicated family space available on weekends and holidays for connecting and learning about paintings together.
V&A Museum
While most museums feel designed for adults, Young V&A creates an entirely different experience where children’s voices shaped every corner during its seven-year redevelopment.
You’ll find galleries that actually make sense for kids – the Moving Toys gallery shows how clockwork and optical toys work, while the Play Gallery lets babies and toddlers explore colors, textures, and build marble runs.
Your children can see the world’s oldest toy – an Egyptian paddle doll from 1300 BC – alongside modern Superman costumes and War Horse puppets.
The Creativity gallery displays kids’ own artwork next to museum pieces, making young visitors feel like real artists. The museum shop offers games and toys that extend the creative experience beyond your visit.
Best of all, entry’s completely free and the building’s step-free throughout, so everyone can explore comfortably.
Horniman Museum
Where else can your family pet alpacas, watch jellyfish float through crystal-clear tanks, and play musical sculptures all in one South London adventure? The Horniman Museum in Forest Hill offers incredible virtual experiences that’ll captivate your kids from home.
Start with their Interactive Walk trail online, discovering play areas and musical sculptures that connect the gardens to museum collections. Your KS2 and KS3 students will love the virtual Amazon Rainforest workshop exploring fascinating people and animals.
Check out YouTube tours of the Brick Wonders exhibit featuring amazing Lego constructions, plus the Robot Zoo with mechanical creatures mimicking real animal abilities. Kids can also explore the virtual Sundial Trail to learn fascinating insights about solar time versus clock time.
The Horniman YouTube channel provides multiple virtual tours showcasing everything from the Sound Garden’s musical sculptures to Nature Base’s close-up insects and transparent honey bee hive.
National Maritime Museum
Set sail for adventure at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, where your children can explore centuries of seafaring history through exciting virtual experiences. You’ll love that general admission is completely free, making it budget-friendly for families planning virtual visits.
The museum’s website offers fantastic family resources, including digital trails and activity guides perfect for home learning.
Your little ones aged 0-7 will be captivated by the AHOY! Children’s Gallery, where they can virtually fire cannons, hide in ship cabins, and haul ropes through interactive online content. The gallery features sensory experiences, role play opportunities, and interactive displays designed specifically for young explorers.
Don’t miss the upcoming “Pirates: Fact or Fiction” exhibition starting March 2025, which’ll provide amazing virtual storytelling opportunities.
The museum’s Play Tuesdays and Character Encounters also translate beautifully into livestreamed adventures your kids will absolutely treasure.
London Museum
From maritime adventures to magnificent museum collections, London’s top museums offer incredible virtual experiences that’ll transport your family through thousands of years of history and culture.
The British Museum leads with ex-guide Loona Hazarika’s enthralling live tours featuring the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies, and Parthenon sculptures. These 1.5-hour Zoom sessions cost just £10 per family and target ages 10-16 with five-star reviews. Children can ask unlimited questions during the interactive virtual tours, making the experience truly engaging and educational.
For younger kids aged 7-11, schools can book interactive workshops covering prehistory through Roman Britain for £90.
Free exploration awaits through Google Street View, starting in the Hallway of Enlightenment.
The Natural History Museum offers 360° tours via Google Arts & Culture, including the magical Fantastic Beasts exhibition.
Meanwhile, the National Gallery provides three interactive options showcasing hundreds of Renaissance masterpieces through simple click-and-scroll navigation.
Google Arts & Culture Virtual Collections
While physical museum visits might be off the table, Google Arts & Culture transforms your living room into a gateway to London’s most treasured collections. You’ll discover over 47,000 items from the British Museum, including ancient Maya artifacts and miniature clockwork galleons.
The Wallace Collection offers 59 artworks in stunning gigapixel detail – zoom into Lady with a Fan so close you can see individual brushstrokes!
Your kids can explore interactive maps showing objects across continents and time periods, hunt for treasures through scavenger hunts, and experience 3D exhibitions. Museums across the UK showcase their most scientifically important collections, including rare type specimens that help researchers understand new species discoveries.
From Canaletto’s Venice scenes to Mughal daggers, these digital collections bring world-class art directly to your screen. The platform connects over 2,500 global museums, making exploration endless.
Interactive Learning Features Across London Museums
London’s museums have transformed their collections into digital playgrounds where learning becomes an adventure you can control. At the British Museum, you’ll navigate the “Museum of the World” interactive map, connecting ancient objects through clickable stories designed for ages 7–14.
The Natural History Museum’s virtual hub lets you explore dinosaur galleries and experience their Blue Whale exhibit with clickable hotspots explaining biology and conservation.
The Science Museum’s online learning hub brings STEM alive with build-at-home experiments using everyday materials. You can follow themed learning journeys linking space, forces, and engineering to virtual gallery content. These innovative digital experiences use augmented reality technology to enhance educational activities and develop multidisciplinary skills.
Downloadable activity sheets from all three museums turn object pages into quizzes and drawing prompts, while short videos and animations support your projects with child-friendly explanations of complex topics.
The Sum Up
You’ve got amazing adventures waiting right from your living room! These London museums offer incredible virtual experiences that’ll spark your curiosity and imagination. Whether you’re exploring ancient treasures, discovering dinosaurs, or conducting science experiments online, you’ll learn something new every time. Don’t forget to check out the interactive games and activities – they make learning super fun. Start your virtual museum journey today and become a culture explorer from home!
